Feeling very low indeed...

[Millsy 82]

An very pertinent point Millsy. Fact is, in bigger organisations, people are far more likely to, and often do, end up in positions they are neither qualified for or capable of fulfilling.

I find a lot of people lack the people skills to be where they are.

Years ago I loved working for a company I got on great with the office staff and the 2 bosses were in control of the service/maintenance side although you never would of guessed as they just let us get on with it. During the winter if a job was desperate to be done they would ask me and I would do it never booking over time but the girls in the office always thanked me next morning. When it came to the summer if I was finished by 3 they would let me go home.
After 1.5 years or so one of the office staff asked for a pay rise as she was pretty much running our side and she was turned down so she left.
A girl came from another department as she didnt like working there because there was always an atmosphere, she started just before the end of winter so I was still working late but she never asked she told me to do this and that and everytime I went into the office once I had been there for 5 minutes she turned around and said haven't you got work to do? I always replied the same dont worry I always get all my work done. A couple of months went by and it was a beautiful week in may and she phoned me up at 4:30 and said you've got to do this its urgent when I said sorry no they can wait until the morning she went mental at me, the next morning i was called into the bosses and they said what's going on i replied during the winter i dont mind working late but during the summer i have things i want to do so want to finish early, when the boss said you have to work your contracted hours i said look back at the tracker to the winter and look at the amount of overtime i booked then tell me to work my contracted hours. The boss came back to me a couple of days later and thanked me and gave me a lovely lump sum to cover the additional hours I did.
A few months later they won a contract with Mears so they brought in another manager from a different company and this bloke had the people skills of a wasp got in your face and shouted you down at every opportunity, needless to say the company that I once loved had turned into a nightmare and I only lasted a few months after that.

I left them and went to there main competitors (where waspy came from) oh my life the girls in the office were horrific and as soon as a job came in they just put it on your pda didnt matter what time it was and how many jobs you had it went in and when I phoned up to say I couldn't do them I would get grief for it. My lead engineer was the kind of person that dropped the burner pressures on boilers to get the ratio down to acceptable levels but he saved the company a fortune as he just budged everything but his people skills were like a lion literally shouting down the phone at you threaten to sack you every 5 minutes if you didnt do the jobs or didnt turn the boilers back on. Needless to say I didnt last long there before I went self employed.

I would never ever work for a big company again if I had to I would work for a small company with a few plumbers working for them and a boss that used to be on the tools.

 

[Last Plumber]

oddly I do feel satisfied when I’ve unblocked a tough drain

I do like wiring and solving a fault

Looking at those (I'm no psychologist or career adviser), they are both worlds apart but similar in that they are short work, fairly challenging and people really appreciate the results. You also feel a lot of satisfaction from a positive conclusion to that type of work which will raise your self esteem. With the drain work, you are exercising your body, breathing deeper and the blood is pumping. That has a positive effect on the mind, read this link.

Have you thought at length about the work you enjoy?
Make a list of the things you get an equal amount of job satisfaction and remuneration from.

It can sometimes be that you are in the right trade but not doing the right work for you. Plumbing is a vast subject as you know! (people do not appreciate the amount of knowledge inside a Plumbers huge Brain).

If you can gear the work that pays equally in both the things I mentioned, you will tend to be happier at work. @YorkshireDave mentioned the 'type' of people he likes or prefers to work for. That has a massive effect on your happiness too. If people appreciate you, you 'aim' to please them and that in turn leads to satisfaction. All this goes around in circles. If we provide and people appreciate, we feel good about what we provided. This side of things is nothing to do with money. However, getting paid as well as the two way satisfaction is a major bonus.

Maybe you would be suited to self employment?
It is long hours, hard work, stressful etc. but in my opinion it pays in more than just money. The customers are yours and if you look after them, they will look after you. This gives a sense of loyalty, responsibility, job satisfaction and so on. It provides you with 'a way of life' rather than 'a job', or that's how I see it. It provides you with more freedom too. The loyalty and responsibility you feel toward customers and the business ensures that you keep working (if it suits your personality) but 'knowing' that the freedom to choose the work you take on and when you do it (to a certain extent) has some positive psychological benefit to my mind.

Hope this helps!!

 

[Last Plumber]

As an additional thought out of interest, read about Epicurus.

He was a Greek Philosopher who believed that a Human being needs three things in their life in order to feel happy (most adults I think mean 'content' when they say they are happy, I think).

Friendship
Freedom
An analyzed life (Philosophical or rational thought about yourself).

Out of further interest, Some TV ads contain at least two of the above with the sneaky idea that you'll think that buying their product will make you happy! All part of the Psychology of advertising.
I know this is off topic a bit as it is not work related (my apologies) but the link to feeling happy brought it to mind so I thought I'd mention it.

Think Bacardi advert. Girl on boat, lots of friends, freedom to be there and the 'I'm thinking how good my life is' look!

Epicurus is worth a read and a think for anyone who feels fed up.
That's my thought on it.

 

[hammers4spanner]

I read somewhere few months back that plumb and gas is the most stressfull trade in the UK.
Unreasonable demands from public and management causes most of it.

I recently went back on the books just to remind myself how utterly awfull having a boss is . We all go through the cycle of fed up with your job and mistakes even millionaire footballers moan about their cushy little bubble,its just life you come through other side.

 

[Burger]

So I took a test from a link from @Last Plumber, according to that I may have depression and anxiety

 

[Harvest Fields]

So I took a test from a link from @Last Plumber, according to that I may have depression and anxiety

Only one way to find out. Go and see someone.

 

[Last Plumber]

So I took a test from a link from @Last Plumber, according to that I may have depression and anxiety

'May' being the operative word.

It is of course possible that you are extremely fed up with work?

The link I sent was really intended to show that physical work can improve your mental well-being. There are other links in that page for you to follow if you wish to. You should keep in mind that if you take those tests whilst feeling down, then the results may not be 100% accurate.

Depression or anxiety is something which needs a professional diagnosis face to face.

If you think the test you have taken and the results are a good indication of how you feel then I would advise you to go and talk to your GP.

 

[Deleted member 32524]

Hard times will pass. I doubt myself all the time. Hate making mistakes and when I do I am my own worst critic. When I start to think, I am good at this job something kicks me in the face and I feel useless again in life too. It is a constant human battle of confidence. Life punches you continuously and sometimes it knocks you down. Find the strength to get back up and never give up.

 

[Welder]

CBW. What are your thoughts now having seen how people are trying to support you? What do you feel now? How do you feel now?

 

[Millsy 82]

The link I sent was really intended to show that physical work can improve your mental well-being.

I was surprised at how much I changed mentally when I first took up kayaking, before that all I used to do was work then get home and drink stupid amounts, it was also shortly after starting that I decided to seek help about my money problems which then helped even more.

I'm a big believer in that exercise helps a lot in your mental state and it is very surprising how quickly it takes effect.

 

[WaterTight]

Over the last 9 months, what with Mum then Dad dying then the **** with TapMedic, I've frigging bawled with frustration, anger and 'just because' believe me

Jesus mate. And there's me getting my sniffles on today because my cat lost his eye in a fight. I don't know I'm born.
Mind you I already lost my dad. But two parents in 9 months sounds brutal. You have my sympathies.

 

[Burger]

CBW. What are your thoughts now having seen how people are trying to support you? What do you feel now? How do you feel now?

I am feeling a bit better now, I think also expressing myself on here (a bit like talking I suppose) has helped. I had completely forgotten I’ve booked a week off work (started today) to do stuff at home, so maybe that’s why I’m feeling better. Also my last job of the day yesterday was to replace a piece of fire damaged soil pipe and boiler condensate pipe (same property), so was out in the sun and cutting pipe (a smidge of cardiovascular) which may have helped.

Can I just say to all the replies a MASSIVE THANKS, and for others to have drawn on their own experiences, especially big shout out to @YorkshireDave, with how tapmedic ended up, let alone anything else has shown very good support.

 

[Jim Goodenough]

All the best @CBW1982 just keep going even if you feel you're going backwards, give yourself small rewards e.g. a coffee, a cookie whatever you like after a small success.
Ask for professional help if you're having bad thoughts, don't beat yourself up.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

All the best @CBW1982 just keep going even if you feel you're going backwards, give yourself small rewards e.g. a coffee, a cookie whatever you like after a small success.
Ask for professional help if you're having bad thoughts, don't beat yourself up.

mmmm cookie

 

[townfanjon]

CBW aka lengths of copper tube .

This may help , I try do it when I am down .
Turn on the tv , Internet etc and look at somebody a LOT less fortunate than yourself i.e. living in Syria and loosing everything, troops returning home minus limbs , people on the streets , kids with cancer , Bradford city supporters etc etc etc you see where I am going .
My missis and I are having a bloody nightmare at the minute , we cant sell our house down to a ancient path running through the garden (which we have to wait for the council to sort )but we have already bought another house , finances are getting well stretched , our lifes are on hold and we are both pretty stressed , I was up at the new house today and came home in a fowl mood , 10 mins of being home and I saw 4 guys playing tennis at Wimbledon in wheel chairs !!!! God I felt a right tw@t , hello , it brings me back to earth , it might help you .
Good luck mate

 

[Burger]

CBW aka lengths of copper tube .

This may help , I try do it when I am down .
Turn on the tv , Internet etc and look at somebody a LOT less fortunate than yourself i.e. living in Syria and loosing everything, troops returning home minus limbs , people on the streets , kids with cancer , Bradford city supporters etc etc etc you see where I am going .
My missis and I are having a bloody nightmare at the minute , we cant sell our house down to a ancient path running through the garden (which we have to wait for the council to sort )but we have already bought another house , finances are getting well stretched , our lifes are on hold and we are both pretty stressed , I was up at the new house today and came home in a fowl mood , 10 mins of being home and I saw 4 guys playing tennis at Wimbledon in wheel chairs !!!! God I felt a right tw@t , hello , it brings me back to earth , it might help you .
Good luck mate

Thanks for that TFJ. Yes stuff like that can bring it home, however I think sometimes you don’t realise other peoples less fortunes when you’re in a state of depression? I have been ok the last few days, so hopefully can snap out of it. Thanks again.
Chris.

 

[townfanjon]

I think sometimes you don’t realise other peoples less fortunes when you’re in a state of depression? .

Yes pal agree 100 % , but its pretty amazing how normal you feel after seeing somebody really struggling. DIY SOS big build programs bring it home lol

 

[Deleted member 96286]

I've been doing this for nearly 40 years and the cycle you are describing is normal mate. We go through phases where everything goes well, nothing can touch us, and then bang we get taken back down to earth with a problem and our comfort zone is destroyed. Just pick yourself up, dust yourself down and remember you're in the job because you are good enough to be there. All the best.